“Well, I’m happy and excited about this little pup. But it has nothing to do with my position. In this pack, a pup is not something that will affect how the pack, and definitely not how my mate, sees me. Having a pup is a blessing, it’s not a requirement.” I took a breath. “Sarah, you know there are a lot of things that play a part if you get pregnant or not, right?” I asked. She looked uncomfortable, but she looked to be thinking about my question.

“Do you mean how often a woman serves the man?” she asked. I was again taken aback by the choice of words.

“Are we talking about sex?” I asked. Sarah blushed and nodded. I asked the goddess to give me strength. I didn’t really want to have this conversation, but at the same time I felt she needed it. As Luna, I had responsibilities, even if Sarah wasn’t part of my pack. “First of all, sex shouldn’t be seen as serving anyone. Sex should be mutual, and both should be enjoying it. We can leave it at that. But yes, that plays a part in your chances of becoming pregnant. There are other factors as well.”

“Yes, what time of the month it is,” she said. I nodded.

“True. Also, if you are in an unstable pack or if you don’t feel safe. You won’t become pregnant if your wolf isn’t happy for some reason. We are complicated creatures and the link we have with our wolf is profound. There are aspects of that relationship we don’t understand. We don’t know why some wolves come forth early, while others wait. We think it has to do with strength, but it’s not always the case. We don’t know why werewolves don’t get pregnant if the pack is in unrest, but it’s a fact. Did Ryan blame you because you didn’t have any pups?” I asked. She nodded.

“He told me it was the one thing I was good for, and since I couldn’t even manage to do that, I was worthless.”

“Fucking weak, filthy scum!” I said with force. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, or to insult your mate,” I added as I saw her flinch. “It was Ryan who made the pack into what it became. It was he who didn’t treat you right. The fault was all his,” I told her. She looked at me and I knew she didn’t believe me. She had been mated to Ryan for years. One talk with me wouldn’t erase the years of conditioning he had put her through. The most I could hope for was to plant a seed. “What about your family?” I asked. “What do they say?”

“Oh, I haven’t talked to them since I mated Ryan. He said they would be jealous of me being Luna as they are just regular wolves.” I shook my head.

“What pack are you from?”

“The Little Lake pack,” she told me. They weren’t our allies, but they had always seemed decent when we had interacted with them. I knew one of our allied packs lived near them.

“Would you like us to reach out to them and ask your family to contact you?” I asked. I could see the longing in Sarah’s eyes.

“I–I don’t know,” she said.

“I’m sure Tamara would agree to take the call with you. You don’t need to do it alone,” I suggested. Sarah hesitantly nodded.

“Yeah, okay, that sounds okay.” After that, we sat in silence as Sarah continued to work on her needlework. The silence wasn’t as uncomfortable as before. We had gotten a better understanding of each other. I still didn’t know what she thought about her mate’s death—if she mourned him or if it was a relief that he was gone. But I had stumbled into one too many conversations about uncomfortable subjects with her today. I was happy not to end up in another. It didn’t take long before Finlay and his mother came into the living room. I walked up to him. He looked better than he had before their talk, even if they didn’t look to be any closer.

“How about a fruit cup and then a walk?” he asked me and fished a cup with canned fruits and a spoon out of his pocket. I laughed. It was getting a little ridiculous, but I loved him for it.

“Deal,” I said, taking the cup and spoon.